Welcome to our June Newsletter!
We are taking a big gulp of fresh air as we head out for our annual summer break. But first, Sarasa Music would like to thank you for making our 2025-26 Season “Connection” such a success! We are even more excited to welcome you back in September, when we kick off an energizing 2026-27 season, celebrating the power of the human voice in “Singing Allowed!”
Early Bird Special!
Don't forget — you have until June 30th to subscribe and save! There are several subscription packages tailored to your needs in order to enjoy great savings. We hope you can join Sarasa for some very uplifting programs next season.
4 and 5-concert subscriptions available for Adults, Seniors, and Under35s!
Background info on Schrank II ~ Cabinet II
Our 2026-27 season opener, Schrank II ~ Cabinet II the weekend of September 18-20, discloses music manuscripts that remained forgotten in a dusty cabinet in Dresden’s Court Church for over one hundred years. Thanks to a curious custodian, the music was rediscovered in the 1870’s, a collection which has become an emblem of the riches of Dresden’s powerhouse musical court of the late 17th and early 18th centuries under Elector Frederick Augustus I.
Johann Georg Pisendel, violinist, composer & copyist
The cabinet held a huge number of manuscripts German violin virtuoso and composer Johann Georg Pisendel (1687-1755) copied out from music he encountered in his travels around Europe on grand tours with the Saxon Court. Thanks to his extraordinary efforts as a copyist and arranger, we have many more noteworthy works by Antonio Vivaldi, Jean-Baptiste Lully, André Campra, and others at our fingertips.
Sarasa is delighted to have the young and exuberant tenor, Richard Pittsinger, on board to bring music from this collection alive! In addition, Rebecca Scout Nelson, who grew up in the town of Gera, Germany (not too far from Dresden), will bring her own experiences to the fore in a new work commissioned by Sarasa.
Richard Pittsinger, tenor (photo: Mei Day) / Rebecca Scout Nelson, violinist, songwriter & composer
Music Unlocked Update:
We are set to return to our summer residencies sharing music with incarcerated youth this summer, thanks to your financial support as well as from the Boston Foundation, the Gant Family Foundation, and the Otto and Marianne Wolman Foundation. Our residencies involve two singers, keyboard player, and cellist who visit a given facility over a period of one week with three visits of two hours each time. During the week, the Sarasa musicians introduce some classical music they typically perform, and encourage the youth to share their own poetry, rap, and any kind of reactions and impulses they have to the different types of music. Unique to this summer’s programming, some of the audio recordings of the pieces that the teens will create during the four residencies will be included in our May 2027 program, Breaking Free.
World Cup Fever:
You cannot deny the passion every nation feels when it comes to the World Cup. Held every four years, 2026 celebrates the “beautiful game” this summer in North America: a month of games hosted across Mexico, Canada, and the USA. For the first time, 48 countries are represented, the largest ever in tournament history. The build-up throughout the group stages makes every game feel like a final!
Recipe corner:
This list of 101 simple, yet scrumptious salad recipes from Mark Bittman of The New York Times will help you out during an extended heatwave! Click here to read the full article.
“ljscoupe” Kristof Skanty, 2026
